REPOST: A Desi Makes It Work on ‘Project Runway’

The Wall Street Journal features designer Sandhya Garg's challenge-winning creation in Season 13 of Project Runway in this article below.

Sandhya Garg, left, with a model who wore her creation on Season 13 of “Project Runway.” |

Image Source:wsj.com

Zac Posen ‘LUVS’ her. Tim Gunn is intrigued. Heidi Klum has never seen anything like it before.

Welcome to the drama of “Project Runway” and Indian-born designer Sandhya Garg, who created ripples with her debut on Season 13 of the reality show on Thursday night in the U.S.

Ms. Garg, who studied fashion at the National Institute of Fashion Technology and has worked in India, derives a lot of inspiration from the country. The first piece she created – a dyed, fringed dress with ripped shoulders – on the immensely popular show won the first challenge of the season. She said it was inspired by an Indian spring festival.

“Project Runway” is an American reality-television series hosted by Ms. Klum, a model. Mr. Posen, a fashion designer, and Nina Garcia, a fashion editor are judges. Mr. Gunn, a fashion consultant and former faculty member at Parsons The New School for Design, serves as a mentor for the designers.

So what do we know about Ms. Garg?

She is from Birmingham, Alabama, and her collections are produced in India.

On the show, she said she wanted her clothes to say what Indian women can’t say out aloud. That makes sense if you read closely the print on a color-blocked, cotton knit pair of pants she calls “Hindi Abusive Print Leggings.” The pants, which sell for $764, are emblazoned with the Hindi phrase “Ullu ka patha.” It means “son of an owl,” and is used by women in India to chide men who they believe lack wisdom and act stupidly.

Can we expect Ms. Garg to step up style-wise?

She has a lot going for her – including being able to dye cloth on a show with a ticking clock (that stuff is time-consuming), the ability to work wi

She’s been part of the Indian fashion-show circuit since 2012 and this year started showing her work in the U.S.

A word of caution: Yet untested is Ms. Garg’s ability to deal with cattiness on “Project Runway.” One of the contestants on Thursday night said Ms. Garg’s winning creation looked like a “stained curtain.” But if her Abusive Print Leggings are anything to go by, Ms. Garg’s art of snipping should naturally extend beyond her scissors.

For more news on the fashion front, visit this Lou Habash blog.